Oakmont's Garcia, Vista girls are second at state meet

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceJunior Madeleine Ankhelyi of Vista del Lago sprints the final few yards to finish third in the Division III race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. With two top-10 finishers (Clare Carroll was sixth), the Eagles placed second to Palos Verdes in the team competition.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceGranite Bay sophomore Katie Mersereau sprints by Westview senior Hannah Sawatzki in the final few hundred yards of the Division II race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. Mersereau finished 65th in the 182-runner field in a time of 19:25.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceOakmont junior Karlie Garcia (1281), flanked by winner Carrie Verdon of Campolindo and third-place finisher Madeleine Ankhelyi of Vista del Lago, receives her medal for placing second in the Division III race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. Verdon beat Garcia to the finish line by one second.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceWoodcreek junior Karina Nunes (1370) leads a pack of runners down a dirt path during the Division II race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. Nunes' 37th-place finish in the field of 182 helped the Timberwolves finish 13th out of 22 teams.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceWoodcreek's girls team huddles during warmups for the Division II race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. The Timberwolves finished 13th out of 22 teams.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceA field of 203 runners answer the starting gun for the Division III race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceOakmont junior Karlie Garcia loses her race-long lead to Campolindo senior Carrie Verdon in the final stretch of the Division III race Saturday at the CIF Cross Country Championships in Fresno. Garcia's 5K time was 17 minutes, 20 seconds at Woodward Park.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceGranite Bay junior Trent Brendel (1247) holds off Woodcreek junior Jon Horvath (1375) at the finish line in the Division II race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. Brendel finished 43rd and Horvath 44th in the 183-man field. Woodcreek finished 12th as a team.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServicePlacer's boys team huddles before the Division III race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. The Hillmen finished 16th out of 24 teams.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceA field of 208 runners, including Placer in box 3/4, awaits the starting gun for the Division III race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. The Hillmen finished 16th out of 24 teams.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServicePlacer runners return to the line following a false start to the Division III race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. The Hillmen finished 16th out of 24 teams.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceAnd they're off. A field of 208 runners answers the starting gun for the Division III race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServicePlacer senior Christian Finkbeiner leads a pack of runners to the finish line in the Division III race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. Finkbeiner finished 32nd in the 5K race with a time of 16 minutes, 14 seconds.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceDel Oro junior Trevor Stephens poses for a photo following a medal ceremony at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. Stephens finished 10th in the Division III race.

Bill Poindexter/Gold Country News ServiceDel Oro junior Trevor Stephens (front row, second from right) poses for a photo with other top-10 finishers in the Division III race at the CIF Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. Stephens finished 10th.

FRESNO -- Del Oro High School junior Trevor Stephens made it onto the top-10 podium by one second. Oakmont junior Karlie Garcia missed a state championship by one second. And Vista del Lago finished a glass-is-half-full second in Division III on Saturday in the CIF Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park.

Placer County schools sent enough competitors to fill a bus - teams and individuals from Divisions I through V - and left Fresno with positive results.

Garcia, Stephens and Vista del Lago led the charge. Garcia led the Division III girls race until the final meters, when Campolindo senior Carrie Verdon sprinted past. Verdon was timed in 17 minutes, 19 seconds in the three-mile race to Garcia's 17:20.

"It was a good race. I was trying to get a better start, because I usually I get really awful starts," said Garcia, who had an eight-second lead at 2 1/2 miles. "I just kinda went out and went for it."

Garcia won the Capital Valley Conference championship this season and raced to her second Sac-Joaquin Section Division III title.

Top-10 finishes by junior Madeleine Ankhelyi (third, 17:34) and sophomore Clare Carroll (sixth, 17:56) helped Vista del Lago place second as a team in Division III. Palos Verdes won with 103 points to the Eagles' 142.

"I'm very proud of our team," senior captain Chelsea Shill said of the Eagles, who finished 13th last year. "All our hard work and dedication, our early morning practices, our hot summer runs, everything just came down to this. We showed our hard work. Everyone just ran great."

Stephens was timed in 15:42, a personal record by about 20 seconds, according to the junior. Stephens said he felt comfortable for the first mile and had a strong kick at the end.

"He raced perfectly, from preparation to understanding what needs to be done and what was going to happen here, because it's different here, and then actually executing," said Del Oro coach Kevin Ostenberg, noting 12 of 14 Golden Eagles runners were in the state meet for the first time.

Said Stephens, "It's amazing. I've put in a lot of work this year and a lot of training."

Woodcreek's boys finished 12th and its girls 13th in the eighth trip to the state meet for each team.

Senior Hunter Tyler broke into the 15-minute group for the first time with a 15:53 and finished 18th individually. Junior Jon Horvath was 31st at 16:07, and senior Brandon Biando and juniors Justin Clark and Sam Devereux were 63rd, 70th and 75th in 16:32, 16:35 and 16:38.

"We were hoping to be top 10 or better. The boys ran really well, better than we ran at Clovis," Timberwolves coach Terri McKillop said. "We were happy they made those gains."

It was the first top-five time for Clark, who was the seventh or eighth man all season and ran a PR.

Junior Karina Nunes overcame an illness to lead the Woodcreek girls with a 19:05 time, 37th overall. Senior Samantha Gomez was 61st (19:43) and sophomore Rosemary Dipentino 62nd (19:43).

"Most girls would die for a 19:05. To put yourself in a race and pull that off was very good," McKillop said. "Rosemary Dipentino had a great race. She stepped up huge."

In other races:

* The Oak Ridge boys placed 18th and the girls, paced by freshman Ellie Velez in 42nd (19:14), were 15th in Division I.